Data show that half of U.S. consumers listen to Internet radio weekly and 177 million monthly. Most of this listening is on mobile and mobile advertising budgets will exceed television spending by 2020. These two trends are converging to present a new opportunity for radio broadcasters to grow revenue and audience.

Data show many people are streaming audio on smartphones, including broadcast radio. Data also show that these listeners prefer ad-supported streaming. So XAPPmedia and jacapps joined forces to create JAX – an opportunity for broadcasters to establish a new revenue stream and capture more daily listening.

Edison Research published its annual Infinite Dial report yesterday and many of the trends we have seen in the past have continued in the 2015 edition. One that correlates closely with other data we have reviewed here previously is the listener migration to mobile.

Yesterday, XAPP announced JAX, a new service to help broadcast radio drive more mobile revenue. JAX = jaccapps + audio + XAPP Ads. jacapps’ large network of over 300 radio broadcasters were looking for something new that would attract advertiser interest and drive mobile revenue, which XAPP can deliver.

XAPPmedia’s Interactive Audio Ads are based on an observable fact: people don’t watch radio; they listen to it. Of course there is YouTube and video coupled with audio content can be a great creative tool. However, that’s not radio. Radio is that experience where your ears are focused and your eyes are free to do something else.

I was at the RAIN conference in Indianapolis catching up with a mix of Broadcast and Internet Radio executives. There was a lot of great content shared. The Internet Radio industry is definitely a numbers-driven market and there was plenty of data to chew on. With that said, sometimes data cannot capture the mood of an industry in transition, as well as a good metaphor. Paul Jacobs had just that metaphor for his panel entitled, “Mobile is the New Black.”

There’s a XAPP Ad for That! Recent studies on consumer trends highlight the need for a shift in radio tactics. The results correlate well with other market trends that relate to music consumption patterns. Consumers listen to Internet radio on their mobile devices, but don’t typically think about terrestrial radio as an option outside of the car.